The Junior Detective

The Junior Detective (Vol.1 : The dark mission)

          “Catch him!” a sharp voice came from behind.

David ran and ran. He had been running until his lungs were burning. His legs were trembling as if they were going to break. He looked back, and saw a group of strong men running after him with a long knife being brandished severely in each of their bloody hand. David shrieked with fear. They were about to reach him!

The boy tried to run faster, but his legs were too tired even to stick on the ground.

He finally fell down on a dirty road.

The men slowed down, laughing evilly.

“It’s so nice to see you, my dear fellow,” one of the men yelled. It was too dark for David to see the speaker’s face clearly, but he could remember that sharp, evil voice very well.

“Please!” David pleaded, kneeling on the floor with his trembling legs. “Please let me go!”

“Let you go?” the shadow repeated with amusement. Each of his hands was holding a long knife. He turned his head back to his men. “Guys! You guys heard him? He’s asking us to let him go.”

The men burst out their laughter.

Another man stepped out. “Shall we have fun with him now, boss?”

He brandished his knives keenly. His keen voice showed how excited and he was to feed them with fresh blood.

“You’re gonna have fun with him soon,” the boss spoke calmly.

He put his knives down on the floor, and bent down with his eyes fixed on David’s face.

“You shouldn’t have run, friend,” he whispered. “You know me well, David. You know that a little rubbish like you could never escape from my reach.”

He moved a bit nearer to David. Now, their faces were only a centimeter away from one another.

David tried to turn his face away, but the killing sign from the boss’s eyes told him not to do so.

The boss could feel David’s rapid breath, and was amused to see how scared the boy was.

“Come on, boy,” he whispered, caressing David’s cheek with his long fingers. David bit his lips as he felt the evil’s sharp nails scratching his skin.

“You’re gonna be in no danger.” The evil whispered hypnotically beside David’s ear. “You’re gonna be home safely. Just give me the money, and everything will be alright.”

“I don’t have it,” David cried, shaking his head with fear. His whole body trembled as he saw the boss’s hand slowly moved toward his knives which were lying harmfully on the floor just beside his toe.

“This may be the last chance you have, boy,” the boss’s voice was the mixture of serenity and menace. Clearly, he was about to lose his patience.

David’s face was drenched with tear. His heart was pounding as hard as if it was going to protrude out of his chest. His mouth was trembling so much that he could no longer speak at all.

He could do nothing but shaking his head as a reply.

The boss chuckled a bit. “This is a real tragedy. Then, there’s no way I can help you now.”

He stood up slowly, holding up one of his knives.

“I wish you have a nice sleep while you,” he drew the knife up, “rest…in…peace!”

****************

          “Chemistry sucks!” a young man with short blond hair spoke out loud. He had just walked out of the classroom to the table where his friends were waiting.

“Come on, Jason!” George laughed. “Nobody in our group likes chemistry. Our grades won’t be much different.”

“F!” Alex laughed. “That’s what all of us got last semester.”

“Excluding me, man!” a voice came from behind.

The guys looked back.

“Hey, Jacob!” George greeted loudly with both of his hands waving.

Jacob Wisconsin, a tall boy with short brown hair and dark blue eyes, sat down next to George.

“Oh, right!” Alex puffed, annoyed. “Who’s as smart as you, Mr. Sherlock Holmes Junior?”

Jacob smiled.

“To be honest,” Jason spoke, “I don’t really like that name. Why don’t we just call him with something else? Something like…umm…Mr. Cat-man!”

“What?” Jacob scratched his head.

Clearly, nobody on the table got what Jason was trying to say.

Jason pointed at Jacob’s face. “You guys see his face? He really looks like a cat!”

“So, where’s David?” George changed the topic.

Jacob shrugged. “No idea.”

“He’s been absent for three days, though,” Jason commented. “Is he ill?”

“I tried to contact him last night,” said Alex, “But he didn’t pick up the call.”

“This is quite strange,” Jacob whispered with his eyes moving left and right. “David doesn’t normally miss our calls, does he?”

“No, he doesn’t,” said Alex. “I call him very often, though. And he’s always ready to pick up my call, and is so keen to talk about his ga…” he suddenly paused.

“His ‘ga…’ what?” Jacob asked, interested. “Gay?”

The guys burst out their laughter.

“I didn’t know you guys liked to talk about gays,” George yelled. “You guys are gays, aren’t you?”

“Rubbish!” Alex snapped. “Not about gays!”

“So, about what?” Jacob asked again, still being unable to stop his laughter.

Alex looked away. “Football matches.”

“But just now you were saying…”

“Football matches,” Alex insisted firmly.

“Come on, Alex!” Jason patted Alex’s shoulder. “Why are you so serious about this?”

Alex shrugged. “I’m not. So, where’s Mathew?”

“I saw him this morning,” said Jacob. “He was with his girlfriend.”

“But talking about Mathew,” George spoke in a jealous tone, “he changes his girlfriend almost every week, doesn’t he?”

“He changes his part-time dating partner almost every week,” Jacob corrected him. “He doesn’t even care to have a real girlfriend.”

“I envy him!” Jason shouted. “He’s handsome and rich and attractive and everything! He’s the most popular guy in school, I guess!”

“Second most popular,” George smiled. “The real champion is there.”

The guys turned to look at who George was talking about.

“James K. Newton,” Jacob murmured.

James was walking in front of his large pack of friends, who behaved themselves more like James’ servants. He was really tall and extremely handsome. The strength of his muscles seemed to be unbeatable.

“That’s the real guy,” George admired him.

“He may be looks good,” Alex chuckled, “but he’s so dirty!”

“His suit looks clean,” George argued.

Alex rolled his eyes. “You just open your eyes widely, and look at his shoes! So muddy!”

Jacob looked at James’ shoes, and saw that Alex was right. James expensive shoes were drenched with dirty mud.

Jacob frowned.

“What’s wrong, Jake?” Alex asked.

“Nope,” Jacob replied with a low voice, “nothing.”

“Well, I think you must get used to this behavior of Mr. Sherlock Holmes Junior,” George teased. “Last week, when he and I were jogging on the street, my little friend suddenly paused and stood still like a dummy! I was so shocked. I thought he had some kind of heart attack, but no! He just found something interesting, and suddenly shrank into his deep thought!”

“Really, Jake?” Jason laughed. “That’s so funny!”

“Being too genius is not always good. I can see from him now,” George spoke with amusement. “So, what are you thinking about, man?”

“Nothing, nothing,” replied Jacob. His face was so red with shame.

“So, do you think we should go to David’s place after school?” Jacob changed the topic. “He’s our friend, and I think it’s good to pay him a visit.”

“Can’t we just go now?” said Alex. “I don’t wanna go back to Chemistry class!”

“Terrific idea!” yelled George. “We can just tell the security guard that Jason is ill, and that we need to bring him back home. And if you want it to be a bit more adventurous, we can simply sneak to the back gate, climb the wall, and then go to David’s place. I walked to the back fence this morning, and I saw no security guard.”

“I prefer the later idea,” Jacob smiled evilly.

“So do I,” Alex raised his eyebrows.

“So, what are we waiting for?” Jason stood up keenly. “Let’s go!”

****************

          “What do you mean? David’s not home?”

The guys exchanged looks.

Ginny, David’s maid had just told them that David hadn’t been home for three days now.

“Do you know where he is?” Alex asked, worried.

“Has he told you anything?” Jason added.

Ginny thought for a moment.

“Oh, yeah!” she quickly took her pink mobile phone out, and handed it to Jacob.

“David sent me a text message around three days ago.” She spoke excitedly. “Maybe it can be of help.”

Jacob took the phone at once, and read the message.

“What does it say?” George spoke impatiently.

Jacob didn’t reply. He perused the text message over and over. His face became more and more serious every time he started to read it again.

“Give that to me!” George couldn’t stand it anymore. He snatched the phone from Jacob’s hand, and read it out loud.

“Not gonna b home for a week. Got sth to do.” George looked up angrily. “What does he think he’s doing? Everybody’s worried about him!”

“You’re done?” Jacob snatched the phone back even before George could reply.

“Ginny,” Jacob said sternly, “do you mind if I read other messages from David?”

Ginny looked hesitated.

“Ginny,” Jacob fixed his eyes on her, “this is the matter of life and death.”

“The matter of life and death. Ha!” George jeered him. “Don’t you understand English, eh? He’s got something to do. He’s not in danger or anything of the sort!”

“You just shut up!” Jacob bellowed. He turned back to Ginny. “Will you please?”

Ginny sighed deeply. “Well, if you think it’s important, go ahead.”

Jacob smiled a bit. “Thank you.”

And then he started to search for other messages from David, and read them.

          It only took Jacob a few minutes to finish his job. He handed the phone back to Ginny without a word. His friends looked at him suspiciously.

“So?” George snarled. “Found something, Mr. Holmes?”

Jacob took a deep breath. “The text message was not from David Wisconsin.”

There was a long silence in the room.

“You’re kidding us!” George chuckled. “You’ve seen the sender’s phone number. It’s David’s!”

“But maybe,” Alex said slowly, “the one who typed the message wasn’t David.”

“You’ve got the point,” Jacob nodded.

Jason bit his lips thoughtfully. “How do you know that?”

“Firstly,” Jacob began, “David always type the word ‘Ginny’ at the beginning of every single message.”

Jason took the phone from Ginny, and perused the messages.

“True,” he said at last.

“And secondly, David doesn’t use capital letter when he type text messages,” Jacob took out his phone. “You can check the messages in your phone.”

“Not necessary,” Alex said. “I know that very well. It’s true.”

Jacob nodded. “Thirdly, David always type ‘4’ not ‘for’. And the last point, David always type ‘2’ instead of ‘to’!”

The room was silent again for a moment.

“So, it means that somebody had taken David’s phone to type the message,” George was trying to keep up. “What’s that for?”

“There are not many possibilities. And one of them,” Jacob closed his trembling eyes, “David has been kidnapped.”

The air of fear and melancholy filled the whole room. The air was cold enough to freeze everybody’s bones. They slowly exchanged looks.

“Who does it?” Jason yelled with rage.

“This is what we need to find out,” Jacob spoke.

“But this might not be true,” George argued.

“I’m very confident about it,” insisted Jacob. “I’ve found some information that supports this gravely.”

George clenched his teeth. “So, what should we do now?”

Jacob thought for a moment. “Now, I want you guys to wait for me here. And Ginny, please take me up to David’s room.”

Ginny nodded. Her whole body was shaking with fear. “This way, Jake.”

          David’s room was very untidy. Jacob looked at it for a moment.

“David doesn’t allow you to clean his room?”

Ginny nodded. “Well, he’s started to forbid anyone from entering his room last week.”

Jacob took out his little notebook from his schoolbag, and noted this information down.

He walked into the room, and looked around the untidy place.

As his eyes were moving around, they suddenly fixed on something.

David quickly moved forward, and put his hand out to what is in front of him.

“David’s jacket?” he asked.

“Yes,” replied Ginny. “It’s very dirty, isn’t it? David doesn’t allow me to wash it. I don’t know why.”

Jacob studied the jacket meticulously. It was a blue jacket, which was full of scratches.

“He wears it often?”

“Well, several times a week,” answered Ginny.

Jacob looked at the scratches. He could see some very tiny dried branches on the jackets.

“I’m almost done,” Jacob put the jacket down. “Do you mind if I’d like to see David’s shoes?”

“Shoes?” Ginny was very confused. “What’s that for?”

“Please bring me to where he keeps his shoes.”

          “Here they are,” Ginny said.

Jacob looked at the shoes. There were all well-polished without any dirty spot.

Jacob frowned seriously. He turned to Ginny.

“Do you polish his shoes?”

“Sure!” Ginny answered. “David wants me to polish his shoes whenever he comes back.”

“Comes back?” Jacob narrowed his eyes. “He normally goes somewhere?”

“I don’t know where he goes,” Ginny sighed deeply. “But he has started to go out at night for a week.”

“What time does he normally go out?”

Ginny thought for a moment. “Around nine.”

“Nine,” he repeated. “So, he walks?”

“You can find no taxi in this village at that time.”

Jacob nodded, and noted the fact down. “Are his shoes normally clean when he comes back?”

“Never expect that!” Ginny shook her head in disgust. “They are always full of dirty things like…”

“Mud?”

“That’s it!”

Jacob inhaled deeply. That’s what he wanted.

“Thank you, Ginny,” he said. “And please do not tell anyone about my investigation.”

Ginny nodded. “Fine, Jake.”

          “So?” George’s eyes almost protruded out with interest and excitement. “What have you got?”

“Wait,” Jacob said, took his phone out of the pocket, and placed a call.

“Inspector John,” he spoke softly. “I need your help.”

Nobody knew what Jacob’s request was. He walked away from his friends while talking seriously with the inspector.

He was on the phone for around fifteen minutes, and then walked back.

“So?” George asked again.

“Don’t ask anything now,” Jacob pointed at George and Jason. “I want you two to go back to school.”

“School?” George shook his head. “For what?”

“Listen, guys,” Jason lowered his voice. “I want you to follow James, and tell me where he goes after school.”

“James,” Jason scratched his head. “You mean that popular guy?”

“That’s the one!” Jacob pointed at Alex. “And you come with me.”

“Hey, wait!” George pulled Jacob back. “Don’t you wanna tell us anything?”

“We don’t have time,” Jacob patted George’s shoulder. “Just do what I say. And be careful. Never let James notice that you guys are following him.”

          A loud voice woke a young man in the room up.

He slowly opened his eyes.

“I’m still alive,” he thought.

David looked around, and saw that he was surrounded by dirty brick wall on all sides.

He tried to sit up, but he fell down at once.

“Ouch!” he put his face into his palms.

He could feel the worst pain on his head.

His skull was burning!

His face was drenched with liquid.

At first, David thought it was just his sweat, but it wasn’t. David knew it from the pain on his head.

His face was now drenched with blood.

It took him a moment to realize that he wasn’t alone in that room.

“How’s your head?” the shadow asked, almost sincerely.

“What do you want from me?” David’s voice was so soft that it could hardly be heard.

“I told you,” James stood up. “I want my money back.”

“I really don’t have it.”

James bent down. “Find it!”

“How do I find that much money?”

James chuckled. “I’ve given you a chance to stay alive, David. And this is your last chance, I tell you.”

David shook his head. “You don’t have any plan to get the money back from me. You just want me to do something for you.”

James laughed. “So smart, boy! How do you know that?”

“You know that I could never pay you back no matter how long you keep me alive.” David replied weakly. “There’s no other reason why you should keep me.”

James clapped his hands. “Very smart, David! So, are you willing to work for me?”

David exhaled. “I have got no other options. Just tell me what I need to do.”

          James was sitting in a luxury living room, drinking wine.

He smiled a bit as he anticipated what he was about to get in a few days.

“James,” a thin boy with long flashy red hair walked into the room.

James looked up. “So?”

Harry smiled. “As you’ve expected, James. They really have been following us.”

“No wonder,” whispered James. “And if I’m not wrong, they’re watching us, right?”

“Just in front of the gate, James.” Harry took his gun out. “Do you want me to get them now?”

“No,” James said softly. “I think we should wait for the others to come, and then get them all at the same time.”

Harry frowned. “The other two?”

“Yes, Harry. Another two of them,” James sipped his wine. “They think they’re smart, but they have no idea who they’re playing with.”

“You’re so shrewd!” Harry admired.

James laughed. “It’s all about experience, Harry. I’ve been dealing with many gangsters since my father, the greatest mafia I’ve ever seen, was still alive. Those boys shouldn’t have wanted to try me.”

He put his glass down on the wooden table beside. “Now, we just have to wait.”

****************

          “Now, are you ready to tell me?” Jacob spoke as he and Alex were walking along the street in David’s village.

“Tell you?” Alex didn’t get it.

“The story you and David always talk on the phone.”

Alex paused.

“Err…”

“Just tell me all about it,” Jacob said. “I have already figured out almost everything. The last piece of jigsaw…is with you.”

Alex exhaled. “This is the reason why you asked me to come with you, right?”

Jacob nodded quietly.

Alex chuckled. “Fine, then.”

“What do you guys normally talk about?”

“We talk about his games,” said Alex.

“Games?” Jacob narrowed his eyes. “What games?”

“Cards,” Alex sighed deeply.

Jacob’s eyes wide opened. “You’re telling me that David gambles?”

Alex nodded slowly.

Jacob frowned. “Worse than expected.”

“What expectation?”

“Now,” Jacob took Alex’s hand, “we gotta be hurry.”

“Hurry? Where?”

Jacob didn’t answer. He just pulled his friend to the destination.

          “Ouch!” Alex yelled out, as Jacob stepped on his toe. “Will you please tell me before stepping back?”

“Shh!” Jacob put his hand on Alex’s mouth.

“Silent,” he whispered.

Now, they were standing in front of a large yard which had a big sign ‘Private! Keep out!’ sticking in front.

“Where are we?” Alex whispered. “And why are we here?”

Jacob didn’t reply. He quickly sneaked nearer to the fence, and looked inside.

“Here’s the place,” he spoke at last.

“What place?” Alex asked. “See, the night is about to fall. I think we should go back home.”

“I’m about to finish,” said Jacob. “Wait for a while.”

But as Jacob sneaked nearer to the fence, they heard men’s footsteps behind.

Jacob and Alex were alert. They hastily turned back.

They could see the shadow of men hiding behind a big container that they had just walked pass.

The boys slowly stepped back as the shadow began to move.

The boys’ hearts were pounding hardly.

The men were moving, and then abruptly ran out of the hiding-place.

“Run!” Alex shouted, and started to run.

But a hand grasped his collar, and pulled him back.

Alex suddenly turned back, and saw that the hand was Jacob’s.

“Be calm,” said Jacob, bored. “And see who they are.”

“S**t!” Alex sighed deeply as George and Jason came into sight.

“You guys followed us?” asked Jason.

Jacob shook his head. “We didn’t follow you guys.”

George frowned. “So, how did you know we were here?”

Jacob smiled a bit. “I’ll tell you all about it later. This is James’ place, I suppose?”

Jason nodded. “James and his men arrived here a moment ago.”

“Good job,” Jacob spoke to James and George. “Did they know you guys were following them?”

George shrugged. “I guess they didn’t.”

“Hopefully they didn’t,” Jacob corrected him. “We can’t just guess. James is a dangerous boy. We can’t let them know that we’re after them. Or they will be after us instead.”

Jacob looked over the fence once again, and then said, “We gotta go now. If we stay here any longer, they might just notice. I’ll make a call to Inspector John as soon as we’re away from them.”

****************

          “James,” Harry rushed into the room. “They’re leaving the place! Shall we follow them?”

“Not necessary,” James murmured, hugging a girl who was sitting on his laps. “Let them go first. They’re not very important.”

“But they’re trying you, James!” Harry argued.

James shook his head slowly. “Be mercy, Harry. Allow them to laugh for a day because after that, they won’t have a chance to do it ever again.”

***************

          “I couldn’t fall asleep last night,” Jason spoke grudgingly. “I was too keen to know everything!”

They were now sitting on the same table.

The morning sky was not very nice. It was so cloudy.

“Me, too!” George added. “Why don’t you tell us anything, Jacob? We don’t like this!”

“What’re you guys talking about?” Mathew, who had just arrived, sat down with them.

“You missed everything, Mathew!” Alex yelled, punching his friend playfully. “We had a little adventure last night. But you missed it!”

Mathew showed us a confused face. “Adventure?”

“What’s that supposed to be about?”

“Well, Mathew. It’s just…” Jacob was about to explain while he realized that the voice wasn’t Mathew’s.

Everybody turned back, and their faces suddenly turned white.

They couldn’t believe who they were looking at.

“What’s wrong with you guys?” David walked to them, and sat down on his place.

“Hey, man!” Mathew, who knew nothing about David’s strange absence, greeted him happily.

“Where have you been?” Jacob asked. His tone was not usual at all.

David laughed. “Well, I had been to New York for three days.”

“New York?” George couldn’t believe his ears. “And you let us…”

“Worried about you,” Jacob completed the sentence, while looking at George powerfully. “I really miss David very much, and I want to have a talk with him.”

George swallowed his words. He understood Jacob’s meaning.

Jacob turned back to David. His mouth was smiling, but David could see that his eyes were not.

“Why did you go to New York?” he repeated his questions slowly.

“Err…I’m sorry but it’s personal.”

“Oh,” Jacob fixed his eyes on David, trying to detect lies. “Your personal stuffs?”

David nodded, didn’t dare to meet Jacob’s eyes.

“Well,” said Jacob, “you should have told Ginny about it. I asked Ginny, and she told me that you didn’t tell her at all.”

“I sent her a message, didn’t I?” David argued.

Jacob narrowed his eyes. “You sent?”

“Yeah,” replied David. “I sent it myself.”

“Well,” Jacob relaxed his tension, “I miss you so much, buddy!”

“So, how was your adventure?” David changed the topic. “The road in my village is a bit too narrow. Wish it was okay for you guys to have fun!”

Jacob’s face went pale.

“It was really very narrow!” Alex complained. “But it was fun, anyhow.”

“What’s wrong, Jake?” George asked. “You look sick!”

“I’m really sick,” said Jacob. “Well, I think I need to go to the toilet.”

And then he suddenly left the table.

          Jacob looked around to make sure that nobody had followed him. He took his phone out, and hastily placed a call.

“Inspector John,” he spoke softly, looking around all the time. “James has released David.”

“Good news,” said the policeman.

Jacob shook his head. “I don’t think so, sir. James knows that we were following him yesterday.”

There was a silence.

“How do you know?” the inspector asked.

Jacob sighed. “Just now, we were telling David that we had an adventure last night, and then he suddenly spoke as if he knew where our adventure took place. I mean, he really knows that we were at his village yesterday. James must have told him!”

“Why did James tell him?”

Jacob frowned. “There’re only several possibilities, sir. I think you know what they are.”

“And how severe they are as well,” the inspector took a deep breath. “Detective Wisconsin, I want you to monitor your friend, David. Do not miss any information.”

“Yes, sir.”

***************

          “You look better, Mr. Holmes!” George teased Jacob as Jacob sat down on his place.

“Yeah,” Jacob chuckled. “I feel much, much better.”

“We’re talking about the party,” David told Jacob.

“Party?” Jacob scratched his head. “What party?”

“There’s gonna be a costume party at my place tomorrow night,” explained David. “Everybody should come, okay?”

“Costume party at your place?” Jacob repeated. “That sounds fun!”

“Sure, it does!” David took something out of his school bag. It was a pack of fancy masks.

“What are those?” George asked while peering in to take a good look.

“You guys have to wear masks,” David spoke happily. “This is the rule of the party.”

“You bought them in New York?” asked Jason.

David nodded. “Yep!”

“Can I bring my girl along?” Mathew giggled playfully.

“Just a girl? I think you were about to say ‘my girls’, eh?” Jason elbowed him. “I really envy you!”

“Well, I want this party to be among us,” said David.

George nodded his head. “Only us, then.”

“Well,” David added, “there’ll be several more.”

“Who?” Jason looked at David oddly. “Who’re you gonna invite?”

“Several friends of mine,” David answered quickly. “But don’t care about them. They’re just gonna give you guys a nice show.”

“Show!” George grinned. “I love shows! Your friends are girls, eh?”

David shrugged. “I’m not telling you now. I gotta come tomorrow, and find out!”

Jacob eyed David. Costume party? Masks? Strangers? Shows? What was he trying to do?

“Oh yeah,” David scratched his chin. “When I was in New York, I bought a very beautiful diamond ring there.”

“Diamond ring?” Jacob repeated. “Is the diamond genuine?”

“Of course!” David shouted. “It’s really beautiful. It’s even more beautiful than Mathew’s.”

“Hey, hey!” Mathew argued. “Mine is one of the best! Don’t try to compare!”

“Oh, yeah?” David chuckled. “Try me, then!”

“Show me your ring,” said Mathew.

“You’ll bring the ring along tomorrow,” David spoke. “And don’t forget to bring the best diamond ring you have. The one with shiny emerald around the diamond. I saw you wearing it last year.”

“I’ve never seen him wearing that kind of ring,” Jacob interrupted.

“Come on, man!” David laughed. “I saw it! If I hadn’t seen it, how would I have known about that ring? Is the design I told you accurate, Mathew?”

Mathew nodded. “Yeah! The diamond ring with shiny emerald around the diamond. I can’t remember if I brought it to school last year, but maybe I did.”

“Surely, you did!” David said. “And mind is even better than that one! Yours is totally incomparable to mine.”

“We shall see, then,” Mathew spoke with confidence.

“I wanna go to your place today, Mathew!” David requested. “Is that okay with you?”

Mathew thought for a moment.

“Sure,” he finally replied. “My parents will be back from Paris the day after tomorrow. You guys can come!”

“I’m not going,” said Alex.

“I’m also not going,” added George. “Mathew’s place has got nothing interesting. Why do you wanna go there?”

David shrugged. “I just wanna go. No reason at all. Well, are you guys coming?” He looked at Jacob and Jason.

“Nah!” said Jason. “I agree with George. There’s nothing for me to do there.”

David turned to Jacob. “You?”

Jacob shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve got something to buy. Well, maybe I’ll pay a short visit after buying things.”

“See you then,” Mathew smiled.

“I’ll see you!” David pulled Jacob to hug, and then whispered something in his ear.

***************

          Jacob was standing inside an accessory store.

He was suspicious of David’s plan, and he thought it would be best to prevent it.

He was choosing a fake diamond ring when his phone rang.

“Yes, sir?”

“You called me just now?” the inspector asked.

“Yes, sir.” replied Jacob seriously. “Sir, there’s gonna be a costume party at David’s place tomorrow night. I wonder if you can send some men around. Just in case, something happens.”

“You’re suspicious of something?”

Jacob sighed, and then told the inspector everything in his head.

“Sure, then,” the inspector confirmed at last. “I’ll send my men to stay around David’s place tomorrow night.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Jacob hung up the phone, and then quickly purchased the ring with a big fake diamond in the center, and a few green and red plastics around.

“Hope this is gonna work.”

***************

          “Jake!” Mathew greeted happily as he quickly ran down to open the gate for Jacob.

“Don’t have to open,” said Jacob. “Where’s David?”

“Watching TV, why?”

“Nothing,” Jacob shrugged. “So, what has he been doing?”

“Walking around the house,” replied Mathew. “He’s weird, though. He keeps walking and walking around, and he acts like he’s spy the house. Ha! That’s funny, eh?”

Jacob chucked. He looked around to make sure that nobody was watching, and then sucked the ring into Mathew’s fist.

“Do not bring your emerald ring to the party tomorrow night,” Jacob whispered sternly. “Wear this one instead.”

“Wh…”

“Don’t ask,” said Jacob. “Just do what I say. And do not tell anyone about this, okay?”

“Umm…fine, then. But I still don’t understand,” Mathew looked very confused.

“I’m sure that the place will be dark with a little dim light. David will not notice anything tomorrow. Don’t worry,” Jacob assured him. “After everything’s done, I’ll explain to you until you’re satisfied.”

“I trust the way you think, Jacob,” Mathew kept the ring inside his pocket.

“I gotta go now,” Jacob stepped back. “I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“Bye, Jacob!”

***************

          Jacob Wisconsin was standing in front of a big mirror. He was now in a long black sorcerer’s cloak. A mask was in his hand.

“The party is about to start,” he spoke to himself. David and he had been friends for many years.

He wished that David was not going to do anything bad today. Inspector John’s men had arrived at the place. If there’s anything wrong, he would have no choice but call the police in to settle.

And if that really happens, David would face problems. He didn’t want that at all!

“You shouldn’t have forced me,” Jacob sighed.

He looked at his watch, took his phone, and was about to left the bed room while he realized that he had forgotten something.

He opened the drawer, and took something small out. He looked at it.

He rarely used it at all. In fact, it was to be used only in a real severe situation. But tonight was another risky night. He thought he might need it.

Jacob placed his little gadget behind his left ear, and then left the house.

****************

          “We’re ready, James,” Harry told James, who was now using his latest-model laptop.

James put the laptop on the table.

“Very well then,” he stood up, and took his gun.

Harry smiled. “Your plan is really wicked!”

“That’s for sure!” James laughed. “I really wanna know if that Sherlock Holmes Junior can do anything to me, James of California!”

***************

          Jacob was now in a taxi. He looked out of the windshield, and thought of everything that had happened.

“How lucky am I!” He thought. “David had shown his interest in the diamond ring too clearly.” But his thought suddenly paused. “He had shown his interest in the diamond ring very clearly while he knew that I was suspicious about his relationship with James?”

He could remember what David whispered to him before they left the school.

“You’re right, man. I’ve never seen the ring. But just shut up, okay? This is the matter of life and death.”

“Why did he tell me?” Jacob thought hard. “He was showing me that something was gonna happen in the party.”

Mathew’s voice echoed in his head.

“Walking around the house,” replied Mathew. “He’s weird, though. He keeps walking and walking around, and he acts like he’s spy the house. Ha! That’s funny, eh?”

“David went to Mathew’s house, and spied around his place?”

The pieces of jigsaw were flowing within his head. And in that instance, Jacob startled with fear.

Sherlock Holmes Junior was trapped!

Jacob quickly placed a call.

“Inspector! We’re trapped! Please tell your men to move to Mathew Fisher’s place now! James is gonna take action there!”

The inspector was very shocked. He hung up the phone, and called his men at once.

***************

          The taxi stopped in front of David’s place.

Jacob walked down with his heart pumping so hard.

“Hey, man!” someone under the mask ran to open the door for him.

“Hey, David!” Jacob greeted, trying his best to omit his feeling.

“Wear the mask, man! This is the rule,” David spoke.

“Fine,” Jacob wore the mask. As he wore it, he could feel that the mask had a strange smell.

But before he could do anything, David grasped his hand, and pulled him into the party.

The living room where the party was held was very dark. It only had a dim light from the spotlight above. Jacob was annoyed that he could hardly see anything all. He had to use his ears to listen in order to indicate who was where.

He couldn’t even see how many people were there in the room.

The party was fun with loud music. People danced around, laughing.

Jacob loved dancing, but he didn’t have the mood to do so. The surrounding was not reliable!

          Around half an hour after the party started, Jacob’s phone rang.

“Excuse me!” Jacob told someone whom he was dancing with, and then left the living room.

Jacob walked into the yard. He looked at the screen.

“Inspector,” Jacob murmured, and then picked up the phone.

“Yes, sir?”

“Detective Wisconsin!” Inspector John’s voice was very strange. “We’ve got them! They tried to rob the house, but we’ve got them at last!”

Jacob’s lips curled into a wide grin. “Great! So, you’ve got James, I suppose?”

“That’s the problem!” the inspector shouted. “James and all his close associates are not here!”

“What!?!” the boy’s grin suddenly shrank. “So, where is he?”

“I’m here, man!”

Jacob’s face turned white with fear. But before he could do anything, he felt that something had hit his head hardly. He fell down on the floor.

The picture around had been more and more blurred. He could see James face above him.

The guy put up his gun once again, and then threw it on Jacob’s forehead.

Jacob’s body trembled a bit, and then he fell into the darkness.

***************

          Jacob’s eyes propped opened. He tried to move but he couldn’t! He was bound tightly on an old wooden chair. He looked around. He was now inside a very luxury hall. He hadn’t got any idea where he was until he saw the two guys who were standing in front of him. One of them was the one he knew well, James.

“I thought you weren’t gonna wake up until tomorrow,” scoffed James. “You’re so weak man!”

“But at least, he’s stronger than we expected, James.”

James laughed. “You’re right, Harry.”

“What do you want from me?” Jacob scolded loudly. His face was so red with rage.

“It’s not me who has to answer your question,” James sat down on an opposite chair. “But it’s you who has to answer mine.”

“I’m not speaking anything!” Jacob yelled.

Harry seemed to have lost his patience.

“You shut up now!” he threw his strong fist to Jacob’s face.

“Hey! Enough!” James pulled Harry back.

Jacob felt like he was going to faint.

James inhaled deeply to calm himself down.

“You have no idea what you’ve done to us,” he whispered. “My men have been caught. Now, it’s time that you pay us back. Tell me, Jacob Wisconsin, how did you know that your little fiend, David, was with me?”

Jacob didn’t want to reply, but he looked at Harry’s stern face, and decided that speaking was the best option he had.

“We went to David’s house to find out what was wrong with him,” Jacob started his explanation. “And then, when I read the text message you sent to Ginny’s phone, I knew that it wasn’t really from David. And I knew from Ginny that David had been behaving strangely like he’s doing something wrong for a while. He also liked to go out at night. This made me suspicious.”

“Suspicious that David had been kidnapped?” James asked.

And when Jacob nodded, James laughed out loud.

“That’s nonsense! Behaving strangely doesn’t mean that he was kidnapped!”

“But what about the text message?” Jacob snapped back. “If David wasn’t kidnapped by someone, who would send that text message? It was very obvious that David didn’t type it himself! The only two possibilities for that are: first, someone David was with had done it for fun; second, the kidnapper had done it in order to make the situation better.”

James nodded his head thoughtfully. “Reasonable! But how did you know that it was me?”

“Ginny told me that David’s shoes were always full of mud whenever he came back from the place. And that morning, I saw your shoes were muddy. It hadn’t been raining for a month, James. The only place that can make David’s shoes, as well as yours, muddy must be a place with a big pond, or something of that sort,” The boy said. “And there’s no such public place! It must be somewhere private, and of course, the only person in this town that’s rich enough to have a big pond in a big piece of land was you. I concluded that David had been going to your place.”

Jacob paused to breathe.

“So?” James looked up. “What’s next?”

“Ginny told me that David always walked to the place, so the place must be within his village. It’s almost impossible for David to walk to somewhere outside his village. The village itself was very big. And even walking within the village alone could make people sick!” the boy closed his eyes. “I told two of my friends to follow you to wherever you went, and told another friend of mine to come with me.”

“To my place?” James smiled a bit.

Jacob shook his head. “Not your place. But we were looking for any place with pond or something like that. We could only find it at your place. And moreover, the jacket David wore to the place was full of scratches from bushes and barbs. And the only place where I can find them is your place.”

“So, you were sure that I was the one who kidnapped David?”

Jacob shrugged. “I was suspicious.”

James chuckled. “You didn’t seem to be just suspicious, boy!”

“Actually,” Jacob spoke slowly, “your name has been in my watch-list since the first day you moved into this town.”

“Your watch-list?” James frowned.

Jacob grinned. “Yes, James. You have been behaving yourself like an experienced gangster. This made me suspicious of your background. I started to find out about you, and found that you were the heir of a powerful mafia family.”

“Ah!” James laughed. “I understand now. You took all the jigsaws you have to create this picture, and concluded this fantastic thing.”

“James, he knows too much,” Harry commented. “I think we should get rid of him.”

Jacob startled. They were going to kill me?

He looked at James face, trembling.

James’s eyes were also fixed on Jacob’s face.

“What should I do to you?” James asked the boy in front. “Do you think I should kill you?”

That was not a question; Jacob knew it very well. Harry, who was standing beside James, didn’t seem to understand. He frowned, annoyed.

Jacob took a deep breath. Everything had been planned in advance. Jacob Wisconsin had been trapped, and James had left only one option for him.

“What you actually want is not Mathew’s diamond,” said Jacob at last. “You wanted to test my skill.”

James stood up, walked to Jacob, and bent down in front of him.

“Why do you think so?”

Jacob shook his head. “You sent those worthless people to Mathew’s house while you and your close associate were at David’s place, watching me.”

“Well, well. Another nice conclusion,” James clapped his hands. “Yes, what I really wanted was you. I sent those worthless guys to Mathew’s place just in case you couldn’t catch my plan, and told your little inspector to send his men to David’s place instead.”

“And you’ll lose nothing,” Jacob tightened his fists. “You will either have the diamond or me, depending on how much I can catch your plan.”

“So, now?” James walked back to his chair. “I think you know the options you have.”

The option Jacob was going to choose wasn’t very good. However, it was the only option he could take in order to survive. He could just choose this, and then looked for an appropriate opportunity to escape from this man.

“I’ll work for you,” Jacob said through his teeth.

“That’s great!” James laughed. “Harry, free him!”

“But James!”

“Free him,” James’s voice was sharp.

Harry frowned a bit, fighting his own resistance. Then, he decided that it wasn’t a good idea to argue James. He finally walked to free Jacob.

Jacob stood up as soon as the rope was removed away from his body, but Harry pushed him down.

“Now, Harry,” James said smoothly, “can you remember the drink that I left on my table?”

Harry nodded.

“Good, Harry. Bring me the drink. I would like to give him a warm welcome,” James patted Harry’s back. “Quick, man!”

“What drink is that?” Jacob asked suspiciously.

“Grape wine,” replied James happily. “I’m so glad that I finally have you with me. We’re gonna drink expensive wine together, and have a nice talk.”

Harry walked back with a bottle of grape wine, and two glasses.

James poured Jacob a glass of wine, and then handed it to him.

Jacob took it. He looked at it suspiciously.

James noticed it. He took the glass from Jacob’s hand, and then drank the whole glass.

“I trust you,” spoke Jacob. “Don’t change the glass. I want to use the same one.”

James shrugged, topped up the glass, and handed to Jacob again.

“This is the same glass he used,” Jacob thought. “There can’t be anything wrong.”

And then, he drank the whole glass.

James clapped his hands. “Fantastic! Clearly, you wish that you could escape from me after making me trust you, eh?”

He laughed evilly. “As you said, I’m an experienced mafia. Do you think I’m gonna fall for this?”

Jacob had just realized how terrible the situation was. He looked at the empty cup in his hand.

“Drug,” he stammered.

James grinned. “Yes, buddy, drug! Well, I’m already addicted, so I could just drink it. But for you,” he shook his head, “I think you gotta stay with me for the rest of your life.”

Jacob was about to jump up and punch James, while Harry pushed him away, and locked his arms tightly.

“You’re smart, boy,” said James. “But never try to be comparable to me!”

Jacob’s face went red with rage. Doesn’t matter! He still had his secret gadget with him, just at the back of his left ear. Nobody could simply outsmart Sherlock Holmes Junior. They would see it soon!

          Everybody in the room was very serious.

Jacob Wisconsin had disappeared.

“When did you last see Detective Wisconsin?” Inspector John asked Jacob’s friends sternly.

“We didn’t even see Jacob,” replied Alex with tear in his eyes.

“Everybody wore masks, and the place was too dark even to see our own hands,” added George. “We just kept dancing without knowing who was there.”

“So, what do you think, David?” the inspector’s voice was very harsh. He didn’t even want to look at the boy. The boy was too terrible!

“I…I don’t know,” David stammered. “I…”

“I think you’d better tell us the truth, man!” Jason pushed David fiercely. “You abetted James in kidnapping my friend, didn’t you?”

David lost his words.

Jason was too fierce. He threw his fist to David’s face. David fell over.

“STOP!” Inspector John pulled Jason back.

David was about to run away while Ryan, the inspector’s assistance, grasped his arm with his strong hand.

“Take him to the police station,” said Inspector John firmly.

Ryan nodded before taking David, who was struggling hardly, out of the place.

“How can we help him?” George yelled out. He had finally lost his patience. “We can’t just keep waiting like this!”

“Don’t worry,” Inspector John clenched his teeth. “I’m calling my men now. They will be ready to take action within one hour.”

“Can we go with you?” Alex asked keenly.

The inspector shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. You guys have to stay here.”

          One hour later, the whole SWAT team ran into David’s place.

The inspector was waiting at the front door.

“We’ll be back with Detective Wisconsin,” Inspector John assured the kids.

“How can I trust you?” a boy’s voice came.

“What?” the inspector frowned. “Who said that?”

“I did.” The voice spoke.

Everybody turned to see who was speaking.

“Jacob!!!!!”

The guys rushed to Jacob, and hugged him tightly.

But Jacob suddenly fell down on the ground.

“Jake!!! What’s wrong with you?!”

“Take him into the house! Go!” Inspector John commanded. He narrowed his eyes. How did the boy escape?

***************

          “How did you escape from James?” this was the first thing Jacob heard right after he opened his eyes.

The boy sighed. “Don’t you wanna give me a break, inspector? I’ve just had a very hard time.”

The inspector swallowed his next words.

Jacob chuckled. “I used the little gadget you gave me last month.”

The inspector’s serious face suddenly switched into a wide smile.

“Shrewd!” the man shouted.

He could remember what he had given his little detective last month. It was a mini grenade which contains concentrated gas anesthetic.

“I made James believe that I finally thought that staying with him was the best option I had,” said Jacob, smiling. “I gave him some fake information which he believed to be the police’s secret. I told him that the police had some evidence that could put him in trouble. My plan worked. He called his men in to talk about this, and I took this opportunity to throw my little grenade to the center of the room, and quickly ran out without breathing.”

“Fantastic!” the inspector applauded loudly. “It must have been a very hard time for you.”

“Yes, and there’s another thing I need to tell you.”

Jacob was about to say it when he felt that something was wrong in his body.

“What’s wrong, Jacob?”

Jacob opened his mouth to breathe. “James…forced…me…to…take…drug.”

The inspector was shocked.

Clearly, James wasn’t stupid at all.

Inspector John quickly took his phone out, and called the nearest hospital for an ambulance.

“Take a deep breath, Jacob. You’re gonna be okay! We’ll help you get rid of the drug in your body. You’re gonna be fine!”

Jacob tried to take a deep breath. But he could feel a very strong determination that he needed that drug again. He uncontrollably shook his body.

The inspector grasped him tightly.

“You’re gonna be okay!” he spoke firmly.

Jacob nodded his head weakly. And that was the last thing he could do. The world became darker, and darker. And he could see nothing else.

***************

          Jacob Wisconsin didn’t take long to recover. He finally regained his healthy body and mind.

He had been absent from school for months, and today was the first day he was strong enough to go to school.

In the morning, he walked to the same table where his friends were sitting.

“Jacobbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb!!!!!!!” the greeting was louder and happier than ever.

His friends hastily ran to him, and hugged him so tightly that his bone was about to be broken.

“Hey, guys! I miss you!” yelled Jacob with a big grin.

“We miss you, too, man!”

“So, where’s David?”

Jacob’s answer made everyone’s grin shrank at once.

“The nasty guys who tried to rob my house told the police that David was their master,” spoke Mathew.

Jacob swallowed his saliva. “James is not caught?”

The guys shook their heads.

“But David is,” added Alex.

Jacob sighed deeply. David was a bad friend, but they used to be spending good time together. This news made him feel sad.

“Come on!” Alex patted David’s back. “He deserves it! He has betrayed us all!”

“I agree with Alex,” said George. “I hate that little nasty man!”

“Let’s stop talking about him!” suggested Jason. “Let’s sit down and have a fun talk!”

“Yeah!” Mathew put his arm around Jacob’s neck. “Let’s have a sit, and have a fun talk! Jacob has been having enough terrible time.”

The guys walked back to the table. And thanks to Jason’s special ability to tell jokes, a few minutes later, the guys’ seriousness was completely gone; they were laughing out so loud that they could hardly breathe at all!

A good time seemed to have come back to them.

And it would have come back to them, if someone in the shadow hadn’t been watching them from somewhere around there.

James took off his sunglasses.

“It’s not ended yet. You will see, Sherlock Holmes Junior.”

***************

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Author's Note

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